BIBLE STUDY By all appearances, Saul was a good choice as king. He was tall, handsome, and blessed by God. But Saul forgot that his kingship was from God. Saul made some mistakes that cost him his throne. In 1 Samuel 13, Saul sinned by burning offerings in Samuel s absence. That moment was an important test for Saul. According to Samuel, the Lord would have permanently established Saul s reign if Saul had obeyed. Instead, God would appoint a king who was loyal to Him. (1 Sam. 13:13-14) Saul sinned again when his troops battled the Amalekites. God told Saul to destroy the Amalekites completely. The Amalekites were enemies of God s people. (See Deut. 25:17-19.) But Saul spared Agag the king and kept the best livestock and cattle. They destroyed the worthless things. When Samuel arrived, Saul proudly said, I have carried out the Lord s instructions! Samuel asked him about the sheep, the cattle, and King Agag. But Saul still insisted that he had obeyed; he planned to offer the sheep and cattle to the Lord as a sacrifice. To obey is better than sacrifice Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has rejected you as king! Samuel said. (1 Sam. 15:22-23) After they returned to Israel, Samuel never visited Saul again, and the Lord regretted making Saul king. As you teach, help guide the preschoolers to understand that all earthly kings like Saul are imperfect. But we can see how those kings point us to the perfect King, Jesus, who carried out His Father s instructions without fail. SUGGESTED THEME DECORATING IDEAS: Create a throne room by placing an ornate chair in the center of your teaching space. Use bright, royal colors such as red, purple, emerald green, or metallic tones to decorate your space. You may also use the theme background slide. 1 // SESSION 2 // CYCLE 1 3-5 YEAR OLDS
Key Passage song God Alone Theme Slide PROPS feather hat scroll trumpet God Rejected Saul as King Bible Story video Bible Story Picture Slide Bible KEY PASSAGE SONG Play the Key Passage song as your kids arrive. WORSHIP Worship leaders sing two songs with the children and collect offering. INTRODUCE THE SESSION (3 MINUTES) [Large Group Leader enters wearing a hat with a feather in it. Leader is carrying a trumpet and a scroll. He or she unrolls the scroll and shouts an announcement.] LEADER Hear ye, hear ye! At the request of His Royal Highness, today whenever you hear the word king, you shall clap twice. [Pause and demonstrate.] Let s practice that together. [Clap, clap.] Very good! Roll up the scroll and set it aside. LEADER Welcome back, everyone! In case you forgot or weren t here last time, we are here at the court of the king. [Pause and clap twice.] I am a trumpeter, making very important announcements for the king. [Clap, clap.] I m also here to guide you as we learn from the Bible. Remember, the Bible has a lot of shorter stories in it, but they all come together to tell a bigger story the story of Jesus and how He brings salvation to sinners. WATCH THE BIBLE STORY (10 MINUTES) Say The Bible has God s words in it. Everything in it really happened. The Bible is true. Today s Bible story comes from the Book of 1 Samuel. Show the Bible story video God Rejected Saul as King or tell the Bible story in your own words using the script provided. Use the bolded version for younger preschoolers. 2 // SESSION 2 // CYCLE 1 3-5 YEAR OLDS OPTIONAL BIBLE STORY SCRIPT God Rejected Saul as King 1 Samuel 13:1-14; 15:1-35 When Saul became king of Israel, he built an army. One day, Saul took a group of soldiers with him into the hills. Saul s son, Jonathan, took another group of soldiers to a nearby city. Jonathan and his army ran into a group of Philistines. The Philistines were enemies of Israel. They did not get along with God s people. Jonathan and his army fought with some of the Philistines, and the soldiers destroyed one of the Philistines army camps. The Philistines were mad! They were ready to go to war against the Israelites. The Israelites were afraid. The Philistines had more soldiers, more chariots, and more horses than the Israelites. Surely they would win! So some of the Israelites hid in caves. King Saul did not know what to do. Maybe if he made a sacrifice to God, then God would help them. But Saul was not allowed to make sacrifices. Only Samuel was supposed to do that. Saul waited and waited for Samuel to come. He waited for seven days, but Samuel did not come. So Saul made the sacrifice himself. Then Samuel came.
Saul, what are you doing? Samuel asked. You were not here, and the soldiers started to leave. I asked God for help to fight the Philistines, Saul said. You have done the wrong thing by offering the sacrifice, Samuel said. You will not be king for very long. God is going to find someone else to be king, someone who obeys Him. Later, God spoke to Samuel. God wanted Saul to fight the Amalekites. God said that when the Israelites won the battle, they should destroy everything, even the animals. So the Israelites fought the Amalekites, and they won the battle. But Saul did not do what God wanted him to do. He kept the best cattle, sheep, and animals. The army only destroyed the things nobody wanted. God said to Samuel, If Saul doesn t obey Me, I do not want him to be king. Samuel told Saul that God was angry with him. Saul was sad. He wanted to be king, but God was going to give Israel a new king, a king who obeyed God. Christ Connection: King Saul offered a sacrifice that only the priest was allowed to give. God rejected Saul as king, but He had a plan to send His Son, Jesus. King Jesus never sinned, and He gave His life as the perfect sacrifice for us. Timeline Poster Main Point Slide Big Picture question slides TALK ABOUT THE BIBLE STORY (1 MINUTE) Say King Saul was not a good king. He kept disobeying God. Saul disobeyed God, so he could not be king anymore. God planned to give Israel a new king, a king who obeyed God. Point to the Bible story picture on the giant timeline or big story circle as you ask the following review questions: 1. Who was the only one allowed to make sacrifices to God? (a priest, Samuel) 2. Should Saul have offered the sacrifice to God? (no) 3. What should Saul have done instead of offering the sacrifice himself? (waited for Samuel to come) 4. Did Saul destroy everything that belonged to the Amalekites like God said to do? (No, he kept the best cattle, sheep, and animals.) 5. Why did God not want Saul to be king anymore? (Saul did not obey Him.) BIG PICTURE QUESTION (1 MINUTE) Say Saul was not a perfect king. He was not even a good king. He sinned when he disobeyed God. We have a better king than Saul. Who is our King? Jesus is our King forever. Unlike Saul, Jesus never sinned. King Jesus gave His life as the perfect sacrifice for sin. Key passage KEY PASSAGE (5 MINUTES) Open your Bible to Psalm 47:7. Read the key passage aloud. Say God is King of all the earth. Kings and rulers only have the power God gives to them. God created the world and He rules over it. Let s sing a song like our key passage tells us to do. PRAYER (2 MINUTES) Invite kids to pray before dismissing to small groups. DISMISS TO SMALL GROUP 3 // SESSION 2 // CYCLE 1 3-5 YEAR OLDS
Welcome children and set out a few favorite theme-related toys, such as puzzles and blocks. 10 minutes after the start of service Break into groups of 10 or less children for Small group Activity Page pencils or markers ACTIVITY PAGE (5 MINUTES) Invite preschoolers to find the seven Israelite soldiers hiding in the cave and circle them. Say In today s Bible story, the Israelites were afraid of the Philistines. Some of the Israelite soldiers hid in caves. King Saul did not know what to do, and he made a wrong choice. Let s find out what that was. Blocks ACTIVITY (10 MINUTES) DESTROY BLOCKS Invite preschoolers to build structures with blocks. Explain that when you shout Destroy! preschoolers should knock their block structures down so that no block is left on top of another. Make sure an adult is close at hand for safety and remind preschoolers to knock down their own blocks only. Say God said that when the Israelites defeated the Amalekites, they must destroy everything. Saul did not obey. He kept the best cattle, sheep, and animals. The army only destroyed the things nobody wanted. Saul disobeyed God, so he could not be king anymore. Samuel told Saul that God was angry with him. Saul was sad. He wanted to be king, but God was going to give Israel a new king, a king who obeyed God. SNACK TIME Gather preschoolers for snack time. Thank God for the snack. As you serve snack, instruct preschoolers to wait to eat their snack until you tell them they may do so. When you finally give preschoolers permission to eat their snack, remind them that Saul got tired of waiting on Samuel and offered the sacrifice himself. That was sin. Saul disobeyed God, so he could not be king anymore. TRANSITION When a child finishes his snack, guide him to throw away any trash. He may select a book or puzzle to examine, play quietly with toys, or color the Journal coloring page. 4 // SESSION 2 // CYCLE 1 3-5 YEAR OLDS
crayons Journal Page JOURNAL PAGE Offer the journal page and invite preschoolers to draw a picture of a way they can obey God. Pray for the children. PRAY Say God, we do not want to be like Saul. We want to have hearts to love You and obey You. Thank You that when we put our trust in Jesus, You change our hearts. Thank You for sending King Jesus to give His life as the perfect sacrifice for our sin. Amen. While preschoolers might not be ready to respond to the gospel, use this guide to help little minds begin to grasp big truths about Jesus and the kingdom of God. GOD IS KING. Ask: Who is in charge at home? Who is in charge over the whole world? Explain that God made everything! He is King over everything, and He is in charge. WE SINNED. Ask: Have you ever done something wrong? Tell preschoolers that everyone sins, or disobeys God. Our sin makes God sad. GOD SENT JESUS. Explain that God must punish sin. He loves us and He sent His Son, Jesus, to earth. Jesus came to take away the punishment for sin. JESUS LOVES. Ask: Do you like presents? Explain that Jesus gives us the best present. He never did anything wrong, but He was punished in our place. Jesus wants to take away our sin because He loves us. Pray that God will save your preschoolers. As you faithfully teach the Bible, you are planting gospel seeds in children s hearts. Ask God to grow the preschoolers into children who love and trust in Jesus. THE GOSPEL: GOD S PLAN FOR ME Use Scripture and the guide provided in the classroom to explain to boys and girls how to become a Christian. Assign individuals to meet with kids who have more questions. If this is not possible, encourage boys and girls to ask their parents, leader, or other Christian adults any questions they may have about becoming a Christian. God Rejected Saul as King 1 Samuel 13:1-14; 15:1-35 When Saul became king of Israel, he built an army. One day, Saul took a group of soldiers with him into the hills. Saul s son, Jonathan, took another group of soldiers to a nearby city. Jonathan and his army ran into a group of Philistines. The Philistines were enemies of Israel. They did not get along with God s people. Jonathan and his army fought with some of the Philistines, and the soldiers destroyed one of the Philistines army camps. The Philistines were mad! They were ready to go to war against the Israelites. The Israelites were afraid. The Philistines had more soldiers, more chariots, and more horses than the Israelites. Surely they would win! So some of the Israelites hid in caves. King Saul did not know what to do. Maybe if he made a sacrifice to God, then God would help them. But Saul was not allowed to make sacrifices. Only Samuel was supposed to do that. Saul waited and waited for Samuel to come. He waited for seven days, but Samuel did not come. So Saul made the sacrifice himself. Then Samuel came. Saul, what are you doing? Samuel asked. You were not here, and the soldiers started to leave. I asked God for help to fight the Philistines, Saul said. You have done the wrong thing by offering the sacrifice, Samuel said. You will not be king for very long. God is going to find someone else to be king, someone who obeys Him. Later, God spoke to Samuel. God wanted Saul to fight the Amalekites. God said that when the Israelites won the battle, they should destroy everything, even the animals. So the Israelites fought the Amalekites, and they won the battle. But Saul did not do what God wanted him to do. He kept the best cattle, sheep, and animals. The army only destroyed the things nobody wanted. God said to Samuel, If Saul doesn t obey Me, I do not want him to be king. Samuel told Saul that God was angry with him. Saul was sad. He wanted to be king, but God was going to give Israel a new king, a king who obeyed God. Christ Connection: King Saul offered a sacrifice that only the priest was allowed to give. God rejected Saul as king, but He had a plan to send His Son, Jesus. King Jesus never sinned, and He gave His life as the perfect sacrifice for us. 5 // SESSION 2 // CYCLE 1 3-5 YEAR OLDS